Strange & wonderful marriage of poetry & sports, from Pierre Joris

“Strange & wonderful marriage of poetry & sports … Best high five of the whole world cup! Poetry in Motion as Pussy Riot celebrate the 10th anniversary of the death of poet Dimitryi Prigov by incarnating one of his creations: the heavenly and the earthly policeman.Here a Pussy Riot performer/demonstrator high fives the French teenage-genius player MBappé who could turn out to be the greatest player since Pelé. (there’s also images around of an irate Croate player holding a PR member & asking the Russian police to take him away).” #FreeSentsov#SaveOlegSentsov

“Pussy Riot released a statement, on Twitter, that claimed responsibility for the World Cup action. It also cited the Russian poet, artist, and performer Dmitri Aleksandrovich Prigov. Tomorrow will mark eleven years since his death. One of Prigov’s iconic creations, present in his poetry and performances, was the image of an ideal policeman, a just and ultimate authority that Pussy Riot’s statement dubbed the Heavenly Policeman. In contrast to the Heavenly Policeman, the statement suggested, stands the earthly policeman. “The Heavenly Policeman will protect a baby in her sleep, while the earthly policeman persecutes political prisoners and jails people for sharing and liking posts on social media.” (I am providing my own translation from the Russian original.)”